Environmental Information: EPA Actions Could Reduce the Availability of Environmental Information to the Public

Abstract

U.S. industry uses billions of pounds of chemicals to produce the nations goods and services. Releases of these chemicals during use or disposal can harm human health and the environment. The Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act of 1986 requires facilities that manufacture, process, or otherwise use more than specified amounts of nearly 650 toxic chemicals to report their releases to water, air, and land. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) makes this data available to the public in the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Since 1995, facilities may submit a brief certification statement (Form A), in lieu of the detailed Form R report, if their releases of specific chemicals do not exceed 500 pounds a year. In January 2007, EPA finalized a proposal to increase that threshold to 2,000 pounds, quadrupling what facilities can release before they must disclose their releases and other waste management practices.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 06, 2007
Accession Number
AD1181075

Entities

People

  • John B. Stephenson

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • California
  • Combustion
  • Commerce
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • District Of Columbia
  • Drinking Water
  • Economic Analysis
  • Electronic Mail
  • Environment
  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Environmental Protection
  • Environmental Restoration And Remediation
  • Governments
  • Health
  • Law
  • Natural Resources
  • New Jersey
  • Regulations
  • Risk
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Waste Management
  • Websites

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Environmental Engineering.
  • Government Contracting/Procurement.